Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

And now faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is love.

I love you.
You are my best friend.
Today I give myself to you in marriage.
I promise to encourage and inspire you,
to laugh with you, and to comfort you
in times of sorrow and struggle.
I promise to love you in good times and in bad,
when life seems easy and when it seems hard,
when our love is simple, and when it is an effort.
I promise to cherish you,
and to always hold you in highest regard.
These things I give to you today,
and all the days of our life.

We pledge to each other to be loving friends and partners in marriage.
To talk and to listen, to trust and appreciate one another;
to respect and cherish each other's uniqueness; and to
support, comfort and strengthen each other through life's joys and sorrows.
We promise to share hopes, thoughts and dreams as we build our lives together.
May our lives be ever intertwined, our love keeping us together.
We will build a home that is compassionate to all,
full of respect and honor for others and each other.
May our home be forever filled with peace, happiness and love.

As we stand beside the ocean tide,
may our love always be as constant and unchanging
as these never-ending waves that pour beneath our feet,
flowing endlessly from the depths of the sea;
your love came softly upon my heart,
just as the foam comes softly upon the sand,
and just as there will never be a morning
without the ocean's flow,
so there will never be a day
without my love for you.
I pledge myself to you this day.
Our love will be as unchanging
and dependable as the tide;
as these waters nourish the earth
and sustain life, may my constant devotion
nourish and sustain you
until the end of time.

Today, we reaffirm our commitment to each other
as beloveds and partners in marriage.
We continue to strive to be sensitive to each other's needs,
to be open and understanding with each other,
and to share our thoughts, our feelings,
and our experiences with each other.
We renew our promise to try always to
bring out the qualities of forgiveness, compassion,
and integrity in our selves and in each other.
We continue to cherish each other's uniqueness.
We continue to share in life's joys and remain steadfast
and comfort each other through life's sorrows.

Now you will feel no rain, for
each of you will be shelter for the other.
Now you will feel no cold, for
each of you will be warmth to the other.
Now there will be no loneliness, for
each of you will be companion to the other.
Now you are two persons, but
there is only one life before you.
May beauty surround you both in the
journey ahead and through all the years.
May happiness be your companion and
your days together be good and long upon the earth.

Treat yourselves and each other with respect, and
remind yourselves often of what brought you together.
Give the highest priority to the tenderness,
gentleness and kindness that your connection deserves.
When frustration, difficulties and fear assail your relationship, as
they threaten all relationships at one time or another,
remember to focus on what is right between you,
not only the part which seems wrong.
In this way, you can ride out the storms when
clouds hide the face of the sun in your lives -
remembering that even if you lose sight
of it for a moment, the sun is still there.
And if each of you takes responsibility for
the quality of your life together,
it will be marked by abundance and delight.

Then Almitra spoke again and said, And what of Marriage, Master?
And he answered saying:
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when the white wings of death scatter your days.
Ay, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.

Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with a passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints, --- I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! --- and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

I take you as my partner, my friend and my love.
My hopes and dreams will now be intermingled with yours.
I will seek to balance my needs with those of our community and family.
I will openly draw from our combined experience
and feelings in our search for truth and meaning.
I will strive for harmony through compromise and understanding.

I will be forgiving, but not complacent.
From this day forward, I take shared responsibility
for our marriage, family, community and myself,
regardless of our successes or failures.

I promise to be faithful and true to you in mind,
body, and spirit; to cherish you and respect you;
and to be a source of comfort and encouragement,
free and bound by our love, as long as we shall live.